ETHANOL ADMINISTRATION AND MOTOR FUNCTIONS

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A program of studies will examine the action of ethanol on motor performance. Rats will be used as experimental models to examine basic principles of sensory and motor integration. One concept to be explored is that ethanol disrupts sensor1-motor integration by impairing the capacity of motor centers to regulate or "gate" sensory transmission. Acute and chronic doses of ethanol will be administered. Experimental observation will be made of: video based recordings of steady locomotor and random movements, footfall events detected electronically on a treadmill, and single unit recordings in sensory and motor cerebral cortex, cerebellum and striatum. Iontophoresis of putative transmitters in awake animals will be done to examine actions of ethanol on components of synaptic systems. The uptake of 14C-2deoxyglucose will be assayed by computer based analysis of autoradiographs. Regional brain variations will be imaged under conditions of acute and chronic ethanol administration. These studies will characterize regional and global changes in brain actively which may be the basis for actions of ethanol on "attentional" mechanisms and other processes which regulate motor performance.